NC State and Wake Forest remain among the top 25 ahead of their big showdown
Sometimes the chips fall right into place.
For a while now, college football fans in North Carolina, especially in Raleigh and Winston-Salem, had November 13 circled on the calendar. Now it’s almost here. Next weekend, if you haven’t heard already, N.C. State and Wake Forest will play a football game.
That’s a slight undersell.
The Wolfpack (7-2, 4-1) will take on the Demon Deacons (8-1, 5-0) in perhaps the biggest game between the two foes.
On the line will be the upper hand in the Atlantic Division race. Last week both teams were in my top 25 and even though N.C. State didn’t make the official poll, the Wolfpack did come in No. 19 in the first College Football Playoff Rankings.
Even after a loss, Wake Forest will still be ranked in the top 25. After losing a shootout at North Carolina, I dropped the Deacons out of the top 10 to No. 15. Last week, the Pack was No. 25 on my AP ballot. After an impressive performance versus Florida State (28-14), I moved Dave Doeren’s bunch up to No. 19.
It will be the first time since 1992 the two will meet and both teams are ranked in the Top 25. Doeren is 0-2 all-time versus Wake Forest when N.C. State has been ranked.
Here’s a look at my AP Top 25 ballot:
1 | Georgia (9-0) |
2 | Alabama (8-1) |
3 | Cincinnati (9-0) |
4 | Ohio State (8-1) |
5 | Oklahoma (9-0) |
6 | Oregon (8-1) |
7 | Michigan (8-1) |
8 | Notre Dame (8-1) |
9 | Oklahoma State (8-1) |
10 | Michigan State (8-1) |
11 | Texas A&M (7-2) |
12 | Ole Miss (7-2) |
13 | UTSA (9-0) |
14 | BYU (8-2) |
15 | Wake Forest (8-1) |
16 | Houston (8-1) |
17 | Louisiana (8-1) |
18 | Coastal Carolina (8-1) |
19 | NC State (7-2) |
20 | Pittsburgh (7-2) |
21 | Iowa (7-2) |
22 | Baylor (7-2) |
23 | SDSU (8-1) |
24 | Wisconsin (6-3) |
25 | Auburn (6-3) |
